Gemstone Lore
By Rena Klingenberg

I've written this brief gemstone lore listing of common stones as a copyright-free piece you are welcome to use as-is or adapt. It's a good idea to learn a little about gemstone lore and gem quality - jewelry customers tend to be fascinated with this stuff, so it's helpful to be familiar with it regardless of whether you intentinally make jewelry for metaphysical purposes.

Traditional Gemstone Properties

Agates: Balancing physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies; perceptiveness, strength, inspiration, awakening talents.

Amazonite: Success, joy, self-expression, awakening heart, soothing, harmony, balancing.

Amber: Soothing, calming, cleansing.

Amethyst: Contentment, spirituality, dreams, healing, peace, happiness, love, intuition.

Ametrine: Intellectual stimulation, attunement, releasing, dispelling tension, connecting.

Apatite: Intellect, achieving results, healing, insight, humanitarianism, meditation, balance, creativity.

Aquamarine: Courage, purification, peace, intuition, self-expression, balance, preparedness.

Aventurine: Healing, money, mental agility, visual acuity, peace, opening heart, motivation, leadership.

Azurite: Intuitive energy, dreams, healing, insight, stilling the mind, concentration, self transformation.

Bloodstone: Courage, intense healing, renewal, strength, victory, intuitive decision making.

Calcite: Purification, peace, calming, memory, awareness, appreciation of nature.

Carnelian: Precision, analytical capabilities, physical energy, verbal skill, peace, spirituality.

Celestite: Verbal skill, healing, compassion, calming, growth, intuition, hope.

Chrysocolla: Easing heartache, stamina, wisdom, peace, love, communication, vitality, inner strength.

Chrysoprase: Balancing male-female energy, love, grace, compassion, clemency, personal growth.

Citrine: Intuition, comfort, protection, creativity, physical energy, wealth, mental awakening.

Coral: Diplomacy, quieting emotions, visualization.

Crystal Quartz: Intensifying energy, spiritual development, healing, raising consciousness.

Diamond: Courage, strength, healing, protection, spirituality, mental abilities.

Dumortierite: Self-reliance, stamina, patience, recognition of potential, understanding, communication of ideas.

Emerald: Love, domestic bliss, sensitivity, loyalty, memory, mental capacity, harmony, focus, eliminating negativity.

Fluorite: Stability, impartial reasoning, responsibility, concentration, health.

Fossil Stone: Accomplishments, improvement of one’s environment, communication, innovation.

Garnet: Health, removing negativity, awareness, commitment, regeneration, order, insight.

Hematite: Mental attunement, memory, calming, balance, focusing energy and emotions, peace, inner happiness, transforming negativity.

Howlite: Awareness, calm, emotional expression, observation, patience, eliminating negativity.

Iolite: Intuition, spiritual growth, healing, balance, releasing discord, awakening to inner knowledge.

Jade: Fidelity, dreams, realization of potential, peace, accord, resourcefulness, accomplishment.

Jaspers: Protection, nurturing, joy, awareness; balancing of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies.

Labradorite: Alignment, spiritual connection, transformation, clarity, peace, progression, discernment.

Lapis Lazuli: Wisdom, intuition, awareness, objectivity, clarity, creativity, expanded consciousness, dreams, purity, courage, serenity.

Lepidolite: Hope, stress reduction, birth, peace, spirituality, physical strength, luck, protection, emotional balance.

Malachite: Transformation, insight, clarifying emotions, fidelity, loyalty, practicality.

Marble: Charitable actions, original thinking, alleviation of sorrow.

Moonstone: Introspection, reflection, beginnings, insight, tenderness, harmony, peace, travel.

Mother of Pearl: Mental clarity, intuition, sensitivity, imagination, adaptability, cooperation.

Obsidians: Clarity, deflecting negativity, protection, healing.

Onyx: Self-control, decision making, intuition, recognition of personal strengths.

Opal: Creativity, spontaneity, relationships, memory, happy dreams and changes.

Pearl: Purity, faith, charity, innocence, integrity, focus, wisdom, spirituality, sincerity, fertility.

Peridot: Warmth, friendliness, understanding, openness in love and relationships, regulation of cycles.

Pyrite: Defense, prevention, protection from negativity, physical wholeness, memory.

Rhodocrosite: Love, emotional balance, cleansing, renewal, relaxation, expansion of consciousness.

Rhodonite: Peace, generosity, attention to details.

Rhyolite: Change, variety, progress, creativity, transcending barriers.

Rose Quartz: Love, peace, happiness, gentleness, healing emotional wounds.

Ruby: Nurturing, spiritual wisdom, attainment of values, economic stability, protection from distress.

Sapphire: Joy, peace, beauty, intuition, prosperity, fulfillment of dreams.

Serpentine: (see Jade)

Smoky Quartz: Dissolving emotional blockage, clearing the mind, cooperation, personal pride, joy in living, attentiveness to the moment, protection.

Sodalite: Wisdom, logic, calmness, healing, stress reduction, companionship, self-esteem.

Sunstone: Alleviating fears, energizing, cleansing.

Tanzanite: Communication, intuition, protection, symmetry, decision-making, spirituality.

Tiger Eye: Practicality, peacefulness, clarity, intelligence, intuition, new experiences, financial stability, calmness, releasing inhibitions.

Tiger Iron: Artistic endeavors, beauty, vitality.

Topaz: True love, success in endeavors, understanding of interrelationships, expression of ideas, trust, health, personal expansion and growth.

Tourmaline: Energizing, soul-searching, releasing.

Turquoise: Spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, romantic spontaneity.

Unakite: Balance, re-birth, foresight, emotional balance.Zoisite: Dispelling laziness, facilitating advancement.

More Fascinating Gemstone Lore

Birthstones
Do you know all of your birthstones? You have more than one. Here's a copyright-free list of four different kinds of birthstones: modern, traditional, cabochon, and zodiac stones.

Wedding Anniversary Stones
A copyright-free listing of anniversary stones up to the 80th wedding anniversary. Alternate stones included.

Cleaning Jewelry
Tips for different ways of cleaning jewelry to give it that high-value sparkle! Find out which stones are fragile and need special care.

The Mohs’ Scale of Mineral Hardness
What is the Mohs' Scale, and what does it measure? Guest author Mary Harvey addresses these questions and what mineral hardness means to jewelry artists.

The Therapeutic Benefits of Jewelry Making
How jewelry making can take you deep inside, to connect with an inner stillness that leads to growth and healing.

Colored Gemstones and Mystical Symbolism
Colored gemstones have been attributed with symbolism, legend, lore, and mystical powers. Guest author Sam Serio covers the various gemstone colors and their traditional significance.

The Color of Coral
Did you know that coral occurs naturally in a rainbow of colors? It comes in shades of blue, red, orange, pink, blue, tan, gray, lavender, white and even black. Guest author Darlynn Lydick shows us the beauty of coral in all its gorgeous hues.

Turquoise Jewelry - lore and legend
Turquoise jewelry has been fashionable for over 6000 years. Its lore and legend make this beautiful, captivating stone a must-have item in beads, cabochons, and jewelry. Description of common turquoise treatments such as wax treatment, stabilizating, reconstituting.

The Emerald: One of Nature's Precious Wonders
Guest author G.L. Bycz paints a loving portrait of the emerald, that entrancing green gemstone of legend and lore.

Agate Lore and Legend
Agate has been used by humans for over 20,000 years. Although it is currently used mainly as a gemstone, it has been prized as a stone of healing and power.

The Jewelry Box
A good jewelry box is a wonderful place to store not only your jewelry, but also other small treasures that have touched your life in some way, and the memories they hold. Guest author Angela Davis evokes the ambience of a treasured jewelry box.

Antique Jewelry
Antique jewelry has a timeless charm that never goes out of fashion. Here's how to find vintage jewelry to give or to keep - a lovely way to relive a bygone era.

History of Costume Jewelry
Costume jewelry came into being in the 1930s as a cheap, disposable accessory meant to be worn with a specific outfit. Guest author Sherry Matsen believes costume jewelry can add the finishing touch and show your fashion sense.

You can also learn about gemstone lore and healing properties of stones at CrystalsandJewelry.com and find a list of favorite reference books there.